PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENT FORM (CDM PDD) - Version 03.1. CDM – Executive Board page 1 CLEA DEVELOPMET MECHAISM PROJECT DESIG DOCUMET FORM (CDM-PDD) Version 03 - in effect as of: 28 July 2006 COTETS A. General description of project activity B. Application of a baseline and monitoring methodology C. Duration of the project activity / crediting period D. Environmental impacts E. Stakeholders’ comments Annexes Annex 1: Contact information on participants in the project activity Annex 2: Information regarding public funding Annex 3: Baseline information Annex 4: Monitoring plan Annex 5: CEMPPSA´s newspaper article Annex 6: Photographs of project PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENT FORM (CDM PDD) - Version 03.1. CDM – Executive Board page 2 SECTIO A. General description of project activity A.1 Title of the project activity : Exploitation of the Mendoza River, Potrerillos Project (Original title: Aprovechamiento Integral del río Mendoza, Proyecto Potrerillos) – Hydroelectric Power - Argentina. Version 01 April 2007 A.2. Description of the project activity: The objective of this Project is the generation of renewable electric power at the Álvarez Condarco and Cacheuta Nueva Hydroelectric Power Stations, located in the Province of Mendoza, Argentine Republic. The reduction of CO 2 emissions is achieved through the displacement of electricity generated from fossil fuel by electricity generated from renewable sources. Thus, it is estimated that the annual average of emission reduction will be of 221,998.53 tons of equivalent CO 2 during a crediting period of 7 renewable years (21 altogether). The Potrerillos Exploitation Project was carried out by CEMPPSA (Consortium of Mendocinian Companies for Potrerillos Business Corporation). The Project uses the water flow of the Mendoza River with the following purposes: • To enlarge and normalize the irrigated area; • To control flood events in the Mendoza River; • To satisfy the requirements of potable water and water for agriculture and industrial use in the Mendoza suburban area and its influence area; • To increase the production of electric power in the province. CEMPPSA was granted the concession of the old power stations Álvarez Condarco and Cacheuta and it has undertaken the construction of the Potrerillos Dam and the Cacheuta Nueva Power Station. Moreover, two existing machines from the Álvarez Condarco Station were repowered and a third machine was incorporated, as explained below: − To the effects of this CDM project activity, the Cacheuta Nueva Power Station has been built. The station has a Maximum Installed Generation Capacity of 126.40 MW, and is made up of four (4) generation units of 31.60 MW each. This station has replaced the old Cacheuta Station, which had a maximum installed capacity of 9 MW and three (3) generators of 3 MW each of which had been working since the year 1926. − Also, as part of the CDM Project, two existing equipment units of 13.7 MW have been repowered at the Álvarez Condarco Station, which now have 15.20 MW, and a new generator has been incorporated of 24.54 MW. Both stations are located in a cascade design and are fed by their own adduction, which originates at the Potrerillos Dam. During the period between May 2002 and October 2003, the units at both stations gradually began operating commercially. However, this Project does not claim retroactiveness for the years of operation before 2007. PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENT FORM (CDM PDD) - Version 03.1. CDM – Executive Board page 3 With the registration of the Project in the CDM, CEMPPSA plans to implement an aid fund for state technical schools in the province of Mendoza. The funding necessary to carry out said activity will be secured from the sale of carbon credits obtained by this Project, by means of a trust fund created for this purpose. This will be an important contribution by the Project to the region´s sustainable development, apart from the contributions inherent to the Project which are set forth below: • The increase of the clean energy rate in the Argentine Interconnection System (SADI), by displacing sources of intensive carbon generation, and covering approximately 25% of the electric power consumption of the Province. • Expansion and improvement of the water supply for the irrigated oasis, which will favor the necessary conditions for the sustained growth of Mendoza´s economy. • The assurance of a potable water supply for the population of the Mendoza River oasis , control of its flow volume and reduction of the risk caused by its periodic overflooding. • A substantial boost to local and foreign tourism, through the existence of a permanent water mirror, attractive to both effective and sedentary tourists, which will represent an important source of indirect employment and a growth factor for the whole province. In fact, during the construction stage, 1,200 people have benefited from direct employment. A.3. Project participants : ame of Party involved (*) Private and/or public Kindly indicate if ((host) indicates a host Party) entity(ies) the Party involved project participants (*) wishes to be (as applicable) considered as project participant (Yes/o) Argentina (Host) CEMPPSA ( Consortium of o Mendocinian Companies for Potrerillos Business Corporation ) (*) In accordance with the CDM modalities and procedures, at the time of making the CDM-PDD public at the stage of validation, a Party involved may or may not have provided its approval. At the time of requesting registration, the approval by the Party(ies) involved is required. PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENT FORM (CDM PDD) - Version 03.1. CDM – Executive Board page 4 A.4. Technical description of the project activity : A.4.1. Location of the project activity : A.4.1.1. Host Party (ies): Argentine Republic A.4.1.2. Region/State/Province etc.: Province of Mendoza A.4.1.3. City/Town/Community etc: Departments of Las Heras and Luján de Cuyo. A.4.1.4. Detail of physical location, including information allowing the unique identification of this project activity (maximum one page): The Potrerillos Exploitation Project is located on the Mendoza River, in the Province of the same name, in the Cuyo region of the Republic of Argentina (mid-west). Mendoza is bounded by the province of San Juan to the north, by the provinces of San Luis and La Pampa to the east, by the provinces of La Pampa and Neuquén to the south and finally by the Republic of Chile to the west. The Potrerillos Dam is situated on the Mendoza River, at 33° 01´ south latitude and 69° 06´ west longitude, at 1,300 m.a.s.l. in the area near the village of Cacheuta and downstream from the village of Potrerillos. The Project area has access from Provincial Route N° 82. The distance from the city of Mendoza is 35 km from Cacheuta and 46 km from Potrerillos. In the Project area, the Mendoza River –which is part of the Desaguadero Basin- constitutes the boundary between the departments of Luján de Cuyo and Las Heras, the former extending from the right margin of the River while the latter from the left margin. The Cacheuta Nueva Station is specifically located at geographic coordinates X: 6.346.375 and Y: 2.489.575, while the Álvarez Condarco Station is located at coordinates X: 6.344.300 and Y: 2.495.200, both on the margins of the Mendoza River. The department of Luján de Cuyo has a surface of 4,847 km 2 and a population of approximately 70,000 inhabitants; while the department of Las Heras has 8,955 km 2 and 130,000 inhabitants. PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENT FORM (CDM PDD) - Version 03.1. CDM – Executive Board page 5 South America Mendoza/Argentina Area of the Project activity Map References : Río Mendoza: Mendoza River Vertedero: Spillway (Morning Glory type, Río Blanco: Blanco River Design flood 1800 m 3/sec) Río Seco Cacheuta: Cacheuta Dry River Túnel de aducción: Adduction Tunnel Zona Curva del icho: Curva del icho Area Central Cacheuta: Cacheuta Power Station Túnel de riego, desvío y descargador de fondo: Central Álvarez Condarco: Álvarez Condarco Irrigation, Diversion and Bottom Discharge Power Station Tunnel (350 m of length, 10.80 m in diameter) Sub-Estación Luján de Cuyo: Luján de Cuyo Presa Potrerillos: Potrerillos Dam Substation PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENT FORM (CDM PDD) - Version 03.1. CDM – Executive Board page 6 A.4.2. Category(ies) of project activity : According to the Categories and Scope of the CDM projects defined by the UNFCCC, this project activity belongs to Category 1: Renewable Energy (Scope umber: 1 - Sectorial Scope: Energy industries (renewable - / non-renewable sources)). A.4.3. Technology to be employed by the project activity : The basic operating principle by which the technology used allows the generation of electricity consists of exploiting the potential energy of the water collected in the dam, situated at a higher level than the power station, where the hydraulic turbines and generators are placed. The water gets there carried through a discharge or adduction pipeline. The Potrerillos dam consists essentially of a main body of triangular shape made of loose rockfill, not earthfill, strongly compacted and with a high draining capacity, and of a thin layer of concrete in the upstream face to provide impermeability. This type of dam is also commonly called CFRD (Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam). It is situated at around 3.5 km upstream from the village of Cacheuta, where the riverbed reaches around 1,272 m.a.s.l. Its maximum height from the foundation is 116 m, its length at the crest is 480 m, and its width is 395 m wide at the base. The dam thus formed floods a maximum surface of 1,300 Ha and creates a useful volume of 310 hm 3. The dam has a Morning Glory-type spillway with a tunnel that is 300 m long and 11.8 m in diameter.